Do young people know who robert koch is? Koch discoveries. Appointment to high positions

Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch(it. Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch; December 11, Clausthal-Zellerfeld - May 27, Baden-Baden) - German microbiologist. Discovered anthrax bacillus, Vibrio cholerae and tubercle bacillus. Winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in, awarded for research on tuberculosis.

Early years of life

Robert Koch was born on December 11, 1843 in Clausthal-Zellerfeld, the son of Hermann and Matilda Henrietta Koch. Was the third of thirteen children. From childhood, encouraged by his grandfather (mother's father) and uncle - amateur naturalists, he was interested in nature.

In 1848 he went to the local primary school. At this time, he already knew how to read and write.

Having finished school well, Robert Koch entered the Clausthal Gymnasium in 1851, where after four years he became the best student in the class.

Higher education

In 1862, Koch graduated from high school and then entered the University of Göttingen, famous for its scientific traditions. There he studied physics, botany, and then medicine. The most important role in the formation of the interest of the future great scientist in scientific research played by many of his university professors, including the anatomist Jacob Henle, the physiologist Georg Meissner, and the clinician Karl Hesse. It was their participation in discussions about microbes and the nature of various diseases that sparked young Koch's interest in this problem.

Koch's work brought him widespread fame and in the year, thanks to the efforts of Kongheim, Koch became a government adviser at the Imperial Department of Health in Berlin.

On March 24, 1882, when he announced that he had managed to isolate the bacterium that causes tuberculosis, Koch achieved the greatest triumph in his entire life. At the time, this disease was one of the leading causes of death. In his publications, Koch developed the principles of "obtaining evidence that a particular microorganism causes certain diseases." These principles still underlie medical microbiology.

Cholera

Koch's study of tuberculosis was interrupted when, on the instructions of the German government, as part of a scientific expedition, he left for Egypt and India in order to try to determine the cause of cholera. While working in India, Koh announced that he had isolated the microbe that causes the disease - Vibrio cholerae.

Resuming work with tuberculosis

In 1885 Koch became a professor at the University of Berlin and director of the newly created Institute of Hygiene. At the same time, he continues to research tuberculosis, focusing on finding ways to treat the disease.

In 1890, Koch announces that such a method has been found. He isolated a sterile liquid containing substances produced by the tubercle bacillus during its life - tuberculin, which caused an allergic reaction in tuberculosis patients. However, in practice, tuberculin was not used for the treatment of tuberculosis, since it did not possess any special therapeutic properties, but on the contrary, its administration was accompanied by toxic reactions and caused poisoning, which became the reason for its sharpest criticism. Protests against the use of tuberculin subsided after it was discovered that the tuberculin test could be used in the diagnosis of tuberculosis, which has played a large role in the fight against tuberculosis in cows.

Awards

In 1905, Robert Koch was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for "research and discoveries concerning the treatment of tuberculosis". In the Nobel lecture, the laureate said that if we look at the path "that has been covered in recent years in the fight against such a widespread disease as tuberculosis, we cannot but state that the first important steps have been taken here."

Koch has received many awards, including the Prussian Order of Honor, awarded by the German government in the year, and honorary doctorates from the Universities of Heidelberg and Bologna. He was also a foreign member of the French Academy of Sciences, the Royal Scientific Society of London, the British Medical Association and many other scientific societies.

Contribution to science

Robert Koch's discoveries have made an invaluable contribution to the development of health care, as well as to the coordination of research and practical measures to combat such infectious diseases like typhoid fever, malaria, rinderpest, sleeping sickness (trypanosomiasis) and human plague.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

See what "Robert Koch" is in other dictionaries:

- (1843 1910), a German microbiologist, one of the founders of modern bacteriology and epidemiology, a foreign correspondent member of the Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1884). Tudy on the identification of pathogens of infectious diseases and the development of methods to combat them ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Koch, Robert- Robert Koch. KOCH (Koch) Robert (1843 1910), German microbiologist, one of the founders of bacteriology and epidemiology. Works on the identification of pathogens of infectious diseases and the development of methods to combat them. Formulated criteria ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

Koch (Koch) Robert (11.12.1843, Clausthal, ≈ 27.5.1910, Baden Baden), German microbiologist, one of the founders of modern bacteriology and epidemiology. Graduated from the University of Göttingen (1866). Between 1872 and 1880, a sanitary doctor in Wolstein (now ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Róbert Bárány outstanding otorhinolaryngologist, laureate Nobel Prize on physiology or medicine Date of birth: April 22, 1876 ... Wikipedia

Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch Robert Koch Date of birth: December 11, 1843 (18431211) Place of birth: Clausthal Zellerfeld Date of death: May 27, 1910 Place of death ... Wikipedia

There are articles on Wikipedia about other people with this surname, see Koch. Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch ... Wikipedia

- (Koch, Robert) (1843 1910), German bacteriologist, one of the founders of modern microbiology and epidemiology, awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1905 for the discovery and isolation of the causative agent of tuberculosis. Born 11 ... ... Collier's Encyclopedia

Robert Koch is a distinguished researcher, a thunderbolt of microbes, an author of fundamental works, whose contributions to science and methods of work became important to many inquiring minds that followed him. Paul de Cruy wrote:

"The first of all researchers, the first of all humans that ever lived, Koch proved that a certain kind of microbe causes a certain disease and that small, pathetic bacilli can easily become the killers of a large formidable animal."

Childhood and youth

The biography of the researcher confirms that he was fascinated with wildlife and science early childhood... Koch was born on December 11, 1843 in the spa town of Clausthal-Zellerfeld in Lower Saxony. The house where the future luminary of microbiology was born is now a museum and a prominent landmark on the university campus. Father German worked as a mining engineer, was in the management of mines. Mining was the main industry driving the development of the region.

Julian's mother Matilda Henrietta was the daughter of the chief inspector of the Kingdom of Hanover, Heinrich Andreas Bivend, and was completely absorbed in caring for the offspring: 13 children were born in the Koch family, Robert became the third.

Maternal grandfather Henry - educated person and a successful official, had an irresistible craving for nature, was considered an amateur naturalist. Noticing the inquisitive mind of his grandson, he instilled a love for his hobby and partly predetermined the boy's future path. Young Koch adored collecting insects, collecting mosses, disassembling and assembling toys with interest.

Studying was easy for Robert - he figured out writing and reading even before he entered elementary school, before he was 5 years old. Later he studied at the Clausthal gymnasium, where he deservedly received the title of the best student in the class. In 1862, 19-year-old Robert successfully passed the exams at the University of Göttingen. Georg August is a classic German university with a serious academic tradition, associated with the activities of over 40 Nobel laureates.

Subsequently, Koch noted that discussions about microbes and the scientific works of Göttingen's teachers seriously influenced his passion for science. The teaching staff included the pathologist Friedrich Henle, who opened the loop in the nephron of the kidney, later named after him, the physiologist Georg Meissner, who was immortalized in the name of one of the plexuses of the enteric nervous system of the hollow organs of the gastrointestinal tract.

For 2 months, Koch studied natural sciences, including biology, and then took up medicine. After 4 years he receives a doctor's diploma. For several years, the young physician has been moving around Germany in vain in search of a suitable city for private practice. Finally, in 1869, he settled in the town of Rackwitz and got a job as an assistant in a hospital for the mentally ill.

Medicine and scientific activity

IN psychiatric clinic Koch did not work for long in Rakwitz. In 1870 broke out Franco-Prussian War... Robert became a field hospital physician. In the most difficult conditions, he gains invaluable experience, including in the treatment of infectious diseases, outbreaks of which occurred constantly. In the flames of war, he finds time for research, studying microbes and algae. A year later, he is demobilized and devotes all his free time to researching microorganisms, having completely cooled down to medical practice.

In 1872, he was appointed a district doctor in Wolstein (now Wolsztyn in Poland). To the delight of Koch, at that time an anthrax epidemic raged in the region, mowing down the livestock of local farmers. Aware of Louis Pasteur's experiments, he also decided to investigate the dangerous disease.

Countless experiments and hours at a microscope later, he was the first to identify in its pure form the bacterium Bacillus anthracis - the causative agent of the disease, and also studied it in detail life cycle... In crops, the scientist discovered sticks, threads and spores that felt great in wet soil. Thus, Koch scientifically explained the appearance of "death mounds" - dangerous for humans and animals burial sites infected with anthrax.

Four years later, at the University of Breslau (now the Polish city of Wroclaw), the discoveries were made public. An important role in the publication was played by the botanist-bacteriologist Ferdinand Cohn and the pathophysiologist Julius Kongheim, in whose laboratory Koch first spoke about the invented new research methods of microbiology. It is curious that among the listeners was Paul Ehrlich, the future "father" of chemotherapy.

In 1880, with the support of Kongheim, he received the position of government adviser at the Imperial Department of Health in Berlin. A year later, he publishes the revolutionary work "Methods for the Study of Pathogenic Organisms", where he proves that the separation of microbes and the identification of pure cultures is convenient to carry out on solid nutrient media, and not in nutrient broth, as it was before.

The fundamental discovery happened by chance. Koch left the cut potato in the laboratory, and the next morning he found colonies on the cut that lived in isolation and did not mix. Later, the scientist used gelatin, agar-agar and a number of other nutrient solid media, which opened up a new level of research for microbiologists.

The contribution to science was not limited to this. Koch owns a method for studying bacteria by staining. Before him, microbes were considered colorless, and if their density coincided with the density of the environment, then the organisms became completely invisible. Robert used aniline dyes that selectively impart color only to microbes. It has become Starting point in the formation of a new field of microbiology about tinctorial properties of different microbes - their ability to "color rendering".

Finally, an immersion lens. By immersing the objective in oil and using more curved lenses, the scientist brought the microscope's magnification up to 1400x at a time when 500x magnification was the limit. The researcher combined the evidence of the relationship between the microorganism and the disease it causes in a series of postulates called the Koch Triad.

All of them, with some amendments, are still relevant today:

• the microbe is always detected in a patient with a certain infection and is absent in others;
• the microbe must be isolated in its pure form and viewed as a whole microorganism;
• individuals infected with a microbe in their pure form show symptoms similar to those of patients, they are determined by the number and distribution of pathogens

Koch's contemporaries are the greatest minds of humanity, for example, Louis Pasteur, with whom, however, the scientist was at enmity. For several years, geniuses of microbiology have incinerated each other in articles and critical scientific essays. Robert is 20 years younger than Louis, but put forward theories that undermine the authority of the latter.

In the 1880s, tuberculosis killed one in seven people in Germany. The massive nature of the disease and scant knowledge of the etiology led to huge mortality rates. At that time, the disease was contrasted with fresh air and healthy eating... Koch could not ignore such a worthy rival.

With his characteristic obsession, after conducting a series of experiments and studies on the tissues of the deceased, staining and making crops, the scientist was able to discern in the nutrient medium colored bright blue sticks - Koch sticks. Having tested his hypothesis on guinea pigs, Koch proved that it was they who caused the disease, as reported on March 24, 1882 at a conference in Berlin.

Despite many other discoveries made by him about the course of diseases, it was tuberculosis that remained a stumbling block for Koch. Until the end of his life, he dealt with the problem of the disease. Invented sterile tuberculin, a liquid that could help with treatment. Alas, the drug had no therapeutic effect, but it became an excellent diagnostic tool. For "research and discoveries concerning the treatment of tuberculosis" in 1905, he was awarded the Nobel Prize.

In 1882, he also published information about the bacillus that causes acute epidemic conjunctivitis, known as the Koch-Weeks bacillus - another item on the scientist's list of merit. A year later he was sent as part of a research expedition to Egypt and India, where cholera was rampant. Scientist was looking for a pathogen dangerous disease and found it.

Having found in numerous samples a similar microorganism resembling a comma in shape, Koch introduced the world to Vibrio cholerae.

"The idea that microorganisms should be the cause of infectious diseases has long been expressed by a few outstanding minds," wrote Robert Koch. - but it was difficult at first to prove it in an irrefutable way. "

In 1889, together with Shibasaburo Kitasato, he identified the causative agent of tetanus in its pure form. At 41, the microbiologist becomes a professor at the University of Berlin and director of the newly formed Institute of Hygiene. In 1891, he headed the Institute of Infectious Diseases, later named after him.

Since 1896, the scientist went on scientific expeditions: to India, Africa, Java, Italy, New Guinea. In 1904, he resigns from the post of director of the institute in order to immerse himself in the study of information obtained during the trips. Plague, relapsing fever, sleeping sickness, malaria - the most dangerous microbes "lied" under the lens of his microscope until 1907. In 1909, Koch gave his last lecture on tuberculosis. In 1910, the scientist died.

Personal life

In wide circles he had a reputation for being a closed and suspicious person, an introvert by nature, but relatives and friends who were in the circle of trust knew him in his personal life as others: a kind, sensitive genius who adored chess.

The first wife is Emma Adelfina Josephine Fraz, with whom he was married in 1867. A daughter, Gertrude, was born in the union. It was Emma who gave Koch a microscope for his 28th birthday.

In 1893, Robert divorced and remarried. The second wife is a young actress Hedwig Freiburg. The couple had no children.

Death

The scientist died in Baden-Baden at the age of 66 from heart attack.

During the life of the researcher, in 1907, the Robert Koch Foundation appeared in Berlin. The prize awarded to them and gold medal- prestigious international awards in the field of biomedical sciences. In addition to honorary awards, the laureates are also awarded with impressive monetary grants. Some of the Koch Prize winners subsequently received the Nobel Prize.

Lyubeznova Tatiana, grade 11.

The life story of the great German scientist Robert Koch. This presentation can be used both in the classroom and in extracurricular activities.

Download:

Preview:

To use the preview of presentations, create yourself a Google account (account) and log into it: https://accounts.google.com

Slide captions:

Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch Completed by: Lyubeznova T. Checked by: Naimushina O.D.

Robert Koch was born on December 11, 1843 in Clausthal-Zellerfeld, the son of Hermann and Matilda Henrietta Koch. Was the third of thirteen children. Father - mining engineer Herman Koch, worked in the management of local mines. Mother, Juliana Matilda Henrietta Koch, née Bivend, is the daughter of a high-ranking official Heinrich Andreas Bivend, chief inspector of the Kingdom of Hanover. In 1848 he went to a local elementary school. At this time, he already knew how to read and write. Having finished school well, Robert Koch entered the Clausthal Gymnasium in 1851, where after four years he became the best student in the class. early years life (Frühes Leben)

Higher education (Hochschulbildung) In 1862, Koch graduated from high school and then entered the University of Göttingen, famous for its scientific traditions. There he studied physics, botany, and then medicine. Many of his university professors, including the anatomist Jacob Henle, the physiologist Georg Meissner, and the clinician Karl Hesse, played an important role in shaping the interest of the future great scientist in scientific research. It was their participation in discussions about microbes and the nature of various diseases that sparked young Koch's interest in this problem.

Research papers (Forschungsarbeiten) Anthrax (Milzbrand) Tuberculosis (Tuberkuljose) Cholera (Cholera) Zu dem 28 - stem Geburtstag Frau Adel'Fine Josefine Emma Franz schenkte ihm ein Mikroskop, und seitdem verbrachte Robert ganze mitt Er verliert Interesse an einer Privatpraxis und fing an, Forschungen und Experimente an Mäusen zu erzeugen. On his twenty-eighth birthday, Emma Adelfine's wife Josephine Franz gave him a microscope, and since then Robert spent whole days with him. He loses all interest in private medical practice and begins to conduct research and experiments, for which he gives birth to a large number of mice.

Places of work Humboldt University (Humboldt- Universität in Berlin)

The Institute of Microbiology at Dorotheestrasse in Berlin - here Robert Koch discovered the causative agent of tuberculosis. (Institut für Mikrobiologie an der Doroteeštrasse in Berlin, wo Robert Koch den Erreger der Tuberkulose entdeckt hat).

Awards. Preise. Reverse of the 1905 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Medal. Koch has received many awards, including the Prussian Order of Honor, awarded by the German government in 1906, and honorary doctorates from the Universities of Heidelberg and Bologna. He was also a foreign member of the French Academy of Sciences, the Royal Scientific Society of London, the British Medical Association and many other scientific societies.

The Order of the Red Eagle is a knightly order of the Kingdom of Prussia. He served as a reward for bravery in battle, outstanding command of troops, long and loyal service to the kingdom, and other achievements.

Pour le Mérite (French for Merit) - the order, which was the highest military award of Prussia until the end of the First World War. Unofficially named "Blue Max" (German: Blauer Max).

German postage stamp dedicated to the centenary of the Nobel Prize awarded to Robert Koch (B riefmarke zu Ehren des hundertsten Jahrestages des Nobelpreises von Robert Koch).

Monument to Robert Koch on the square named after him in Berlin (Denkmal für Robert Koch auf seinem Namen-Platz in Berlin)

Robert Koch's discoveries have made an invaluable contribution to the development of public health, as well as to the coordination of research and practical measures in the fight against infectious diseases such as typhoid fever, malaria, rinderpest, sleeping sickness (trypanosomiasis) and human plague. Contribution to science Eröffnungen des Robert Koches haben einen unschätzbaren Beitrag zur Entwicklung der Gesundheitsversorgung sowie die Koordinierung der Forschung und praktische Maßnahmen zur Bekämpfung von Infektionskrankheiten wie Pestchenaria

Robert Koch wurde im 11. Dezember 1843 in Clausthal-Cellerfel'de geboren. Er war der Sohn von Hermann und Mathilde Henriette Koch. Robert war das dritte von dreizehn Kindern. Sein Vater war Ingenieur Hermann Koch, in lokalen Minen gearbeitet. Seine Mutter, Juliana Mathilde Henriette Koch, geb. Bivend, Tochter von einer hochrangigen offiziellen Heinrich Andreas Bivenda, Generalinspekteur Königsreiches Hannovers. 1848 ging er in die Grundschule. Damals wusste schon mal lesen und schreiben. Nach dem Abitur, betritt Robert Koch im Jahr 1851 das Gymnasium Klaustalâ, i n dem vier Jahre später der beste Schüler in der Klasse geworden war. Frühes Leben

Hochschulbildung 1862 absolvierte Koch Gymnasium und dann ging er für seine wissenschaftlichen Traditionen an Universität Göttingen. Dort studierte er Physik, Botanik und Medizin. Eine entscheidende Rolle bei der Zukunftsgestaltung des großen Wissenschaftlers für wissenschaftliche Forschung spielten viele von seinen Universitätsprofessoren, darunter Jakob Henle, Physiologe und Anatom Georg Meissner und Hlinesser, Es ist ihre Teilnahme an Debatten über das Wesen der Krankheit Mikroben und beleuchtet das junge Koch Interesse für diesen Problem.

Date of Birth:
December 11, 1843
Place of Birth:
Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Prussia
Date of death:
May 27 1910 (66 years old)
Place of death:
Baden Baden
Country:
Germany
Scientific area:
Microbiology
Place of work:
University of Berlin, Institute of Hygiene
Alma mater:
University of Göttingen
Famous students:
Johannes Fiebiger, August Wassermann
Known as:
tuberculosis researcher
Awards and prizes

1905 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch (German Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch; December 11, 1843, Clausthal-Zellerfeld - May 27, 1910, Baden-Baden) is a German microbiologist. Discovered anthrax bacillus, Vibrio cholerae and tubercle bacillus. For his research on tuberculosis he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1905.

Early years of life

Robert Koch was born on December 11, 1843 in Clausthal-Zellerfeld, the son of Hermann and Matilda Henrietta Koch. Was the third of thirteen children. Father - mining engineer Herman Koch, worked in the management of local mines. Mother, Juliana Matilda Henrietta Koch, née Bivend, is the daughter of a high-ranking official Heinrich Andreas Bivend, chief inspector of the Kingdom of Hanover. It was he who saw in the inquisitive grandson the makings of a researcher. From childhood, encouraged by his grandfather (mother's father) and uncle - amateur naturalists, he was interested in nature.

In 1848 he went to a local elementary school. At this time, he already knew how to read and write.

Having finished school well, Robert Koch entered the Clausthal Gymnasium in 1851, where after four years he became the best student in the class.

Higher education

In 1862, Koch graduated from high school and then entered the University of Göttingen, famous for its scientific traditions. There he studied physics, botany, and then medicine. Many of his university professors, including the anatomist Jacob Henle, the physiologist Georg Meissner, and the clinician Karl Hesse, played an important role in shaping the interest of the future great scientist in scientific research. It was their participation in discussions about microbes and the nature of various diseases that sparked young Koch's interest in this problem.

Medical practice

In 1866, Robert completed his studies at the university and received a medical degree. From that time on, he began working in various hospitals, and at the same time tried unsuccessfully to establish a private practice in five different cities in Germany. Later, he wants to become a military doctor or commit trip around the world as a ship doctor, until eventually settling in the town of Rakwitz, where he began his medical practice as an assistant in a hospital for the insane.

In 1867 he married Emma Adelfine Josephine Fraz.

In 1870, the Franco-Prussian War begins, and Koch's work at the hospital is interrupted. Koch voluntarily becomes a field hospital doctor, despite severe myopia. On the new service he gains extensive practical experience in the treatment of infectious diseases, in particular cholera and typhoid fever. At the same time, he studies algae and large microbes under a microscope, improves his skills in microphotography.

Research work

In 1871 Koch was demobilized. On his twenty-eighth birthday, his wife gave him a microscope, and since then Robert spent whole days with him. He loses all interest in private medical practice and begins to conduct research and experiments, for which he gives birth to a large number of mice.

anthrax

In 1872, Koch was appointed county sanitary doctor in Wolstein (now Wolsztyn in Poland). He found that in the vicinity of Wolstein, among cattle, as well as sheep, an endemic disease, anthrax, which affects the lungs, causes skin carbuncles and changes in lymph nodes, is common. Knowing about Louis Pasteur's experiments on animals with anthrax, Koch uses a microscope to study the pathogen that is believed to cause anthrax. Through a series of careful, methodical experiments, he establishes that the only reason disease is the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, and studies its biological development cycle. Establishes the epidemiological features of the disease, shows that one bacterial bacillus can form a multi-million colony. These studies were the first to prove the bacterial origin of the disease.

In 1876 and 1877, with the assistance of the botanist Ferdinand Cohn and the pathologist Julius Kongheim, Koch's papers on anthrax were published at the University of Breslau (now the Polish city of Wroclaw). These works bring him wide popularity. Koch also publishes a description of his laboratory methods, including the color of the bacterial culture and micrographs of its structure. The results of Koch's work were presented to scientists in the Kongheim laboratory, including Paul Ehrlich.

Koch's work brought him wide recognition and in 1880, thanks to the efforts of Kongheim, Koch became a government adviser at the Imperial Department of Health in Berlin.

In 1881, Koch publishes Methods for the Study of Pathogenic Organisms, which describes a method for growing microbes on solid nutrient media. This way had essential for isolation and study of pure bacterial cultures. Shortly thereafter, a heated discussion ensued between Koch and Pasteur, until then the leader in microbiology. After Koch published harshly critical reviews of Pasteur's research on anthrax, the latter's leadership was shaken, and several years of animosity broke out between the two prominent scientists. All this time, they have been conducting heated debates and discussions on the pages of magazines and in public speeches.

Tuberculosis

Koch later attempted to find the causative agent of tuberculosis, a disease at the time widespread and the leading cause of death. The proximity of the Charite clinic, filled with tuberculosis patients, makes it easier for him - every day, early in the morning he comes to the hospital, where he receives material for research: a small amount of sputum or a few drops of blood from patients with consumption.

However, despite the abundance of material, he still does not manage to find the causative agent of the disease. Koch soon realizes that the only way to achieve the goal is with the help of dyes. Unfortunately, ordinary dyes are too weak, but after several months of unsuccessful work, he still manages to find the necessary substances.

Institute of Microbiology on Dorotheestrasse in Berlin - here Robert Koch discovered the causative agent of tuberculosis

Koch stains the rubbed tuberculosis tissue of the 271st preparation in methyl blue, and then in the caustic red-brown paint used in leather finishing, and reveals tiny, slightly curved, bright blue-colored sticks - Koch sticks.

On March 24, 1882, when he announced that he had managed to isolate the bacterium that causes tuberculosis, Koch achieved the greatest triumph in his entire life. At the time, this disease was one of the leading causes of death. In his publications, Koch developed the principles of "obtaining evidence that a particular microorganism causes certain diseases." These principles still underlie medical microbiology.

Cholera

Koch's study of tuberculosis was interrupted when, on the instructions of the German government, as part of a scientific expedition, he left for Egypt and India in order to try to determine the cause of cholera. While working in India, Koh announced that he had isolated the microbe that causes the disease - Vibrio cholerae.

Resuming work with tuberculosis

In 1885 Koch became a professor at the University of Berlin and director of the newly created Institute of Hygiene. At the same time, he continues to research tuberculosis, focusing on finding ways to treat the disease.

In 1890, Koch announces that such a method has been found. He isolated a sterile fluid containing substances produced by the tubercle bacillus during its life - tuberculin, which caused an allergic reaction in tuberculosis patients. However, in practice, tuberculin was not used for the treatment of tuberculosis, since it did not possess any special therapeutic properties, but on the contrary, its administration was accompanied by toxic reactions and caused poisoning, which became the reason for its sharpest criticism. Protests against the use of tuberculin subsided after it was discovered that the tuberculin test could be used in the diagnosis of tuberculosis, which has played a large role in the fight against tuberculosis in cows.

Awards

In 1905, Robert Koch was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for "research and discoveries concerning the treatment of tuberculosis". In the Nobel lecture, the laureate said that if we look at the path "that has been covered in recent years in the fight against such a widespread disease as tuberculosis, we cannot but state that the first important steps have been taken here."

Koch has received many awards, including the Prussian Order of Honor, awarded by the German government in 1906, and honorary doctorates from the Universities of Heidelberg and Bologna. He was also a foreign member of the French Academy of Sciences, the Royal Scientific Society of London, the British Medical Association and many other scientific societies.

Monument to Robert Koch on the square named after him in Berlin

Contribution to science

Robert Koch's discoveries have made an invaluable contribution to the development of public health, as well as to the coordination of research and practical measures in the fight against infectious diseases such as typhoid fever, malaria, rinderpest, sleeping sickness (trypanosomiasis) and human plague.

Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch